News Release
Suzuki Celebrates 100 Year Birthday with 40 Million Milestone
18 August 2009
The fast-growing Suzuki brand has sold more than 40 million cars globally in a significant milestone achieved since 1955.
More than half this cumulative total was sold in countries outside the company’s home market in Japan, reflecting the international appeal of the products.
The 40 million barrier was broken just before Suzuki was due to celebrate its 100th birthday in October 2009.
Michio Suzuki formed the Suzuki Loom Company in 1909, and the manufacturer became a major builder of motorcycles before diversifying into automobiles 54 years ago.
Suzuki also began producing marine outboard motors in 1965, pre-fabricated houses in 1974, general purpose engines in 1980 and All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) in 1982.
Today Suzuki cars are sold in 193 countries, including New Zealand where it is one of the fastest growing brands.
The local lineup includes the latest generation Swift hatchback which has been a top-selling small car since its introduction here in 2005 and is now made in seven countries.
Ten years after launching its first car, Suzuki moved into larger models in 1965 and since then the marque has been at the forefront of Japan’s expanding mini-vehicle market.
In July Suzuki was second only to Toyota and ahead of Honda in the Japanese domestic market.
Three production bases were established in Japan but the company now also builds cars in 15 plants in 14 other countries, including Indonesia, Hungary and India.
Suzuki car sales in Japan have topped 19,660,00 units and cumulative sales in the rest of the world exceed 20,334,000.
In India, where Suzuki captures more than half the total new vehicle market, the make’s sales currently exceed seven and a half million units.
Maruti, the Indian division of Suzuki is targeting one million car sales a year and annual exports of 200,000 units.
Out of the 11 million cars on Indian roads, a remarkable 7,500,000 of them are Suzuki models.
Last year 792,167 Suzuki cars were sold in India, a 34 per cent increase over the previous year.
Suzuki has defied subdued market trends in some territories. In South Africa, for example, Suzuki car sales were up 35 per cent in 2008, despite a 29 per cent drop in the total new vehicle market.
“The milestone reflects Suzuki’s strength in global vehicle markets. New Zealand is proud to have played a small part in the landmark 40 million sales,” said Tom Peck, General Manager of Marketing for Suzuki New Zealand Ltd.
Included in the total are ten million Alto hatchbacks, 2.6 million Grand Vitaras, and more than one million current model Swifts.
Suzuki sold its ten millionth vehicle in 1989 and by 1990 annual global production was exceeding one million cars. The two million annual production barrier was broken in 2005.
The brand began exports of cars to Europe in 1968 with the little Fronte 360cc two-stroke engined model and has sold 4.5 million cars there since then.
Last year Suzuki sold 2.3 million cars globally, including 315,000 units in Europe even though general trading conditions were difficult. World motorcycle sales reached 3.4 million units last year.
The brand is making its cars even more economical with lower emissions while developing new technologies like a fuel cell with high-pressure hydrogen tank and a capacitor.
To celebrate 100 years of innovation, Suzuki is showcasing its history and manufacturing prowess at Suzuki Plaza, a three storey heritage centre in front of the company headquarters in Japan.
Visitors can walk through ten decades of evolution of the company, right up to the present day.
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